The 3rd threshold on the Journey: Sent with gifts and balm

The Journey Continues in the Return to the Community

Carrying the Fire of Love into the World.So that this fire in our belly does not consume us, burn those we love or just plain burn out, we are called to give time and attention to our interior state while at the same time carrying that shimmering love into a world that is still constricted. It isn't about trying to fix that world as much as it is about carrying love into it. One might say that the posture of this place is one of gentle, compassionate subversion. Each gesture of kindness, every moment of deep listening, each pause for breath chosen instead of reaction, becomes an opportunity to carry Love’s fire into the world.

It is in the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable in this life, we come to realize all symphonies remain unfinished. Karl Rahner

Discernment

Discernment is a process of letting go of what we are not. -FATHER THOMAS KEATING

We have learned that we are not all light. Nor are we all dark. Our journey has brought those parts of us together toward a fuller reconciliation. Now we are prepared to sift through the insights and gifts with a clarity once clouded with the energy of personality maintenance.

Trust your instincts on this one, be guided by your deep intuition. There are times when either there is not enough evidence to go on, or there are so many facts that the walls of reason cannot contain them.

When you face this kind of uncertainty, let your inner light be your guide. It has grown over years of experience. It has been developed by your own deep reflection, the wisdom of a street-smart pilgrim. Take a deep breath. Offer your hand to God in prayer and step out with faith to do what you feel is right.

Prototyping

Gospel of Thomas, Logion 8 "Yeshua said: A human being is like a good fisherman who casts his net into the sea. When he pulls it out, he finds a multitude of little fish. Among them there is one fine, large fish. Without hesitation, he keeps it and throws all the small fish back into the sea. Those who have ears, let them hear!"

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Blink, describes "thin slicing." Gladwell believes that what we call insight or even genius comes from the ability of some people to "sift through the situation in front of them, throwing out all that is irrelevant, while zeroing in on what really matters. The truth is that our unconscious is really good at this, to the point where thin slicing often delivers a better answer than more deliberate and exhaustive ways of thinking".

Move into the world ready to try something new. Don't wait until you feel more ready or prepared. Resist looking for a perfection of your creativity. Now is the time to move, with courage into a prototype of your inspiration.

Allies

Who and what do I need around me to bring my gifts into the world? Where can I express my inspiration and creativity without being judged?

The inspiration is alive, growing inside you like a fragrant flower whose roots go deep into the soil of the Sacred. But because it is alive and growing it is also incomplete, unfinished. The word that describes this unfinished state of our being is: inconsummation. It describes the reality that we live against an infinite horizon of possibilities and yet contain this beauty in what has been described as “jars of clay." It is vital that we come home to this reality and embrace it as a friend.

In order to bring these gifts into the world, we need allies who will "listen us into creation:" co-creative communities of belonging that can nurture our creativity into its fullest expression.

Challenge: "Inconsummation" – Learning to befriend the "unfinished" symphony that is your life